NUE: Introducing Nanoscale System Design into the Undergraduate Electrical and Computer Engineering Curriculum

Suny At Stony Brook, Stony Brook NY

Investigators

Abstract

PROPOSAL NUMBER.: 0407183 INSTITUTION: State University of New York at Stony Brook NSF PROGRAM: NANOTECHNOLOGY UNDERGRAD EDUCATION PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Pacelli, Andrea PROPOSAL TITLE: NUE: Introducing nanoscale system design into the undergraduate electrical and computer engineering curriculum Abstract: Nanotechnology is rapidly making the transition from the experimental stage to practical application. Nanoelectronic systems have the potential to revolutionize information technology, by achieving unprecedented storage and computation capabilities. However, past experience shows that harnessing the power of a new technology requires designers to appreciate its strengths and limitations, and adapt design methodologies to it. Therefore, to tap the potential of nanosystems five or ten years in the future, it is necessary to educate engineers now to appreciate the principles of nanotechnology and to take advantage of it. This interdisciplinary project has the goal of introducing basic concepts in nanoscale circuit and systems design into the undergraduate electrical and computer engineering curriculum, integrating education and current research. An instructional module and supporting CAD software will be developed. Nanoelectronics concepts will be presented from a designer's point of view, stressing the impact on information technologies rather than physical and fabrication aspects. Emphasis will be placed on the typical figures of merit of information processing systems: Computational throughput, power consumption, reliability, and cost. A research agenda will be carried out both in the classroom and in projects, exploring the design potentials of current and future nanoelectronic approaches and comparing them to the dominant silicon technologies. The proposal for this award was received in response to the Nanoscale Science and Engineering Education announcement, NSF 03-044, category NUE.